


遊戯の奇妙な冒険－日下出現 - Yugi’s Bizarre Adventure: Come Forth by Day

by PeepMeep



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Series, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Alternate Universe - They got stands, Big Bang Challenge, hello new people check out the rest of my fics all my tags are like this my b, hey im sure that theres gonna be better tags later, oops i forgot to ask my beta to write tags for this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 09:45:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15603642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeepMeep/pseuds/PeepMeep
Summary: Yugi solves the millennium puzzle, and it’s only the start of his life changing. He and his new friend Joey Wheeler discover they both have etheral dragons that stand by their sides, reacting to their emotions. As they search for an explanation, they find links to Duel Monsters, ancient Egypt, a nameless pharaoh and Yugi’s sudden loss of time. When they discover their classmate Kaiba with his own dragon and a knowledge far deeper than them, their search for answers is only interrupted by Kaiba’s insatiable desire to collect every copy of his ka.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You might remember me mentioning this awhile ago on my tumblr/twitter, but it's finally the day! It's time for gay kau. There's also [a piece of art](http://kamoriaart.tumblr.com/post/176747017822/my-contribution-to-the-yugioh-bigbang) for this that was part of the big bang, check it out, too!

_Long ago in ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh and his court found entertainment in “Shadow Games,” bending monsters to their will in fights to the death. Any who dared invade the kingdom would fall before the very same beasts. But how they were able to harness such magic was lost to time, the Pharaoh’s name now unspoken, stricken from records and gouged from stone…_

 

Lunch was spent the way it usually was; sitting alone at his desk, thinking about the family business. While the game shop always had the latest and greatest brain teasers, there was just one Yugi struggled to understand.

He cleared his desk and carefully placed his prized possession on top. It was a fair-sized golden box, heavier than it seemed, columns of hieroglyphs across the sides. A relief of an eye of Horus was on what Yugi thought was the front. He was familiar with every detail of the box and, while he couldn’t read any ancient languages, he knew every word by heart.

“Hey, what’s this?”                                                                                                                                           

Yugi’s heart jumped as the box left his reach.

“Give it back!” He scrambled out of his seat and stretched his arms to reach, but the height difference was too large. The taller blonde student smirked.

“Why do you care? It’s just a box.”

“It’s important to me!” Yugi jumped to make a grab but Joey just tossed it to Tristan, the box soaring easily above Yugi’s head.

“Why do you even care about this weird thing?” he asked; again Yugi was unable to reach. Tristan tossed it back, grinning at Yugi’s growing frustration.

“So why don’t you do something about it?” Joey didn’t miss Yugi’s sudden hesitation. “What, you don’t think you can take us both on?”

Yugi balled his fists at his sides. “I’m not going to fight you, I hate fighting. You should just-WAIT! Be careful!”

Joey drew his attention away from the contents of the box. “Man, Yuge, you managed to be even lamer than I thought.”

“It’s really important to me. Just…just don’t lose anything, if you want to look.”

“Why would I care about some dumb-hey! What’s the big idea?” Joey turned and fumed at the girl who now held the box.

“What’re you doing, picking on kids?” Teá glared at the two bullies. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Thanks a lot, Gardner,” Tristan mumbled as he and Joey slunk out of the classroom.

Yugi sighed in relief. “Thanks Teá, I wouldn’t know what I’d do if you hadn’t shown up.”

“It’s all right.” She handed the box back. “If you don’t stick up for yourself, they’ll just keep bothering you.”

“Yeah, well…” Yugi didn’t know what exactly to say. _Teá’s always stood up for me, and I know she’s right but…I just can’t do it. I hate violence. Besides, it’s not like I’d even have a chance against them…_

Teá tilted her head and regarded the box. “What’s in it, anyways? I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Yugi’s face lit up. “I’ll show you!” He lifted the lid with a little flourish.

“Ooo, it’s so pretty.” Teá plucked one of the pieces and held it between her fingers. The irregular shape sparkled in the light.

“It’s a puzzle,” Yugi explained. “Like those 3D ones. But it’s one of a kind and I’ve never finished it, so I don’t know what it’s supposed to look like.”

“How did you end up with something like this?”

“I found it in the back of my family’s game shop one day. Grampa said it’s from Egypt, see?” Yugi pointed out the carved shapes on the sides of the box. Some were profiles of familiar animals, others abstract shapes. “It says ‘whoever solves this puzzle shall be granted one wish.’ ”

Teá blinked. “Where did you learn to read ancient Egyptian?”

“Oh no, I never did,” Yugi laughed. “Grampa told me. He used to go on all sorts of adventures and collect rare games, so he knows a lot of stuff like that.”

“Makes sense.” Teá placed the piece down and picked up another; she hissed in pain and suddenly dropped it.

“Are you all right?” Yugi stood suddenly to get a better look.

Teá waved a hand. “It’s just a prick, I didn’t expect it, that was all.” Still, she wore a look of concern as she regarded the drop of blood welling on her finger.

“You’d think I would have figured it out by now, but it still happens to me a lot,” Yugi admitted. “I’ve been working on this for 8 years but sometimes I’m so focused on trying to solve it that I don’t even notice. Some of the pieces are really sharp.”

“Just try to be careful, okay Yugi? But I’m sure you can figure it out.”

Yugi smiled and nodded. “I’ll do my best!”

Teá got up to leave but paused. “Oh, what’s your wish going to be?”

“You can’t tell someone what your wish is, or it won’t come true! Like birthday candles.” Yugi looked down at the jumble of shapes, all too familiar but still a mystery.

_One wish…I hope it’ll come true._

 

“Damn girl, who does she think he is?” Joey’s fists were shoved into his pockets, mood soured from his earlier run-in with Teá. “We were just trying to get Yugi to toughen up.”

“So what if she thinks it’s bullying?” Tristan added. “You’re doing it for _his_ benefit, she should be thanking us.”

“It ain’t like he’ll always have Teá to protect him.”

Tristan nodded. Then promptly groaned when he ran into someone.

“Grrr, watch where you’re go-oh.” Joey’s face paled as he lifted his gaze to meet Trudge’s glare, the biggest guy in Domino High.

“What were you saying about bullies?” He stared them down from beneath his heavy brow.

“Nothing, nothing,” Tristan said casually, taking a step back and taking Joey with him.

Irked, Joey swatted Tristan’s hand away. “Why don’t you m-” He turned to glare at Tristan, his elbow digging into his side.

“You know that picking on people is bad,” Trudge said flatly. “It’s in the school rules.”

“Right, bullying is bad.” Tristan turned to Joey. “And my friend agrees, right?”

Joey didn’t respond to either person. The swell of anger was about to burst, and he wasn’t sure who would get it first. Both options were equally as bad; it just mattered who pissed him off next.

Trudge regarded both of them. His face was unreadable, but his bulk was menacing enough to get his point across. He turned and walked away.

_Don’t you disrespect me like that!_ Joey moved forwards, fist clenching to the point of pain. He was suddenly jerked back.

“Are you insane?” Tristan whispered. “He’d cream you in a heartbeat.”

“Ngggh, I could have taken him.” While logic had now regained control, there was still that desire to deck the hall monitor. It took several moments for Joey to calm down enough for his friend to release him.

As the adrenaline high ebbed, the pain in his fist became more noticeable. Joey opened his hand.

“Dude, you’re bleeding!”

“Thanks, Tristan, I hadn’t noticed.” _Of course I had to swipe the piece with all the spikes._ The flat hunk of gold had the eye of Horus on it. Its pupil and sclera trapped the blood from running down the sides. It stared at Joey, scolding, reminding. He felt the anger come rushing back.

“That freak would have some sort of fucked up puzzle like this.” Joey glanced at his surroundings. Once more he closed his fist. He swung, sending the piece hurtling out the window. There was a splash as it hit the pool below.

“Good luck finishing it now,” he spat.

“You should get that checked out.” Tristan poked at Joey’s hand. Blood dripped down his fingers and onto the floor.

“It’s nothing, I’ll deal with it.”

“Yeah, but _I’m_ the one who has to clean this up.”

 

The final bell rung, marking the end of school.

_Teá’s right, I_ can _solve the puzzle,_ Yugi thought as he prepared to go home. _I’m sure of it, I know it’s going to happen sooner or later._

He happily made his way through the schoolyard. His thoughts were preoccupied with new ways he might not have tried yet to fit the pieces together. _Maybe my assumptions are wrong, maybe I should be turning it that way instead…_

“You’re Yugi, aren’t you?”

It took a moment for his name to register. He turned around to see Trudge leaning against the school gate.

“Yes?” He knew he was the hall monitor, but otherwise not much else. He never got into trouble, so they never had any run-ins.

“I wanted to ask you,” Trudge said. “Are you being bulled?”

The question surprised him. Did Teá say something?

“Oh no, that doesn’t happen to me,” he answered dismissively.

“You don’t have to defend them, I won’t let them hurt you anymore.”

“They’re really not-”

“I’ll be your body guard from now on.”

Yugi blinked. _Be my body guard…?_ “I’ll be okay, really, but thanks for the offer…” He stepped away; Trudge didn’t make any moves. Yugi scuttled off. When he looked back at the crosswalk, Trudge hadn’t moved. _Is he watching me?_ _Why’s he being weird?_

The rest of his walk home was uneventful, thoughts returning to the puzzle. Mechanically, he opened the door to the Kame Game Shop.

“Grampa, I’m home!”

“Yugi!”

He turned, surprised to see Teá standing there. “Hi!”

“I thought I’d come over to check out your games.”

Yugi’s face lit up. _We’ve known each other forever, but she’s never come to visit before!_ “That’s great, we can work on the puzzle.”

“You’re still trying to solve that?” his grandfather asked. He stepped out from his place behind the counter.

Yugi beamed. “Of course! I know I can do it.”

Grampa chuckled. “The Millennium Puzzle hasn’t been solved for thousands of years, it’s beyond the scope of mortal man.”

Teá shifted uneasily. “You never mentioned it was _that_ old,” she said to Yugi.

“A team of British archaeologists found it in a tomb of an unnamed pharaoh,” Grampa explained. “None of them could solve it, and each of them died, one by one. They said it was monsters, but not one was ever seen. The last one said something about ‘the shadow games’ before he died.”

“That’s scary.” Teá shivered. “Like the mummy’s curse.”

“That’s not real, you know,” Yugi said. “They’d put stuff like that on the tombs so people wouldn’t steal from them. The pharaohs were buried with all sorts of treasure to take with them to the afterlife.”

“Right, I think they mentioned that in class once.”

“The inscription on the box reads ‘whoever solves the puzzle will wield the powers and knowledge of darkness,’ ” Grampa added.

Yugi huffed. “Gramps, stop trying to scare Teá.”

“It’s too late for that. Maybe,” she paused, “I should probably head home. I have that test tomorrow to study for.”

“Oh.” Yugi tried not to look visibly deflated but he could tell by Teá’s expression that he’d done a miserable job at it. “You’re right, I should probably do that, too.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow at school, okay?”

“Yeah.”

They said their goodbyes and Yugi trudged up the stairs to his room. What Grampa said was true, as far as he knew, but he had never put too much faith in the implied darker side of the puzzle. Ancient Egypt was full of myths about death, the underworld, spells to fight back monsters who would devour your heart at the first chance they could get. But it was just a box with a puzzle in it, just a game that someone wanted to have with them in the afterlife.

The pieces of the puzzle could fit together in so many ways, but only one of them was correct. They had no markings themselves except for the seams from where they were together. There was the piece with the Wadjet, the Eye of Horus that was everywhere in Egpytian art. It was a symbol to protect the pharaoh’s soul in the afterlife, he recalled, as well as the living who wore it.

_This was a good luck charm for someone, someone powerful enough to be buried in the Valley of the Kings,_ Yugi thought. _And it’ll be mine, too, once I solve it. Then maybe things will turn around…_

 


	2. Chapter 2

“Today will be better, I just know it.” Yugi straightened his shoulders and regarded his reflection. _Focus on the good side of things._

So what if he hadn’t studied for the test like he said he would? History was still one of his strongest subjects and he was confident he would do fine. And yeah, maybe Teá was creeped out about the puzzle, but that wouldn’t change what she thought about him. They had been friends for years, he had no reason to worry.

_Today will be great._

Yugi made his way to school, same as he always did. He passed by familiar faces along his route, seeing the same people who were starting their days. It was a familiar and comfortable routine. That was until he heard crashing in a nearby alley.

“Someone might be in trouble.” Without thinking, he ran around the corner to see what he could do to help. The scene left him frozen in place.

“I’m gonna get you for that!” Joey roared. His arm pulled back and then swung forwards. He yelled, but there was the sound of something else, bestial in its fury, wrapping around Joey in its dark shadow. Trudge violently lifted his knee, connecting with Joey’s stomach, dissipating the rage in an instant. It dissolved like fog in the morning sun as he collapsed to the ground.

“Joey!” Yugi dashed to where he and Tristan were left battered and bloodied on the ground.

“They won’t be bothering you anymore.”

Yugi wheeled around and stared horrified at Trudge.

“Why did you do this?”

Trudge smirked. “Like I told you, I’d be your bodyguard. Now they won’t be giving you any more trouble.”

Yesterday’s conversation now clicked in a horrifying realization. “I didn’t ask you to do _this_!”

“Don’t worry, I get it. You were too afraid to say anything. But I’m here to look out for you.”

Yugi shook in anger. This was horrible, he could never ask for this, never _want_ this. “But they’re my friends!”

 

Turns out hitting the ground in an alley hurt much worse than in your own home, but the humiliation still stung the same. Everything hurt, but Trudge was built like a brick wall, so it came as no surprise. But he had been calculating in every strike. He hadn’t even taken his hands out of his pockets for the last one, which made it all the worse.

Joey could make out something was still going on, past the ringing in his ears. An experimental movement only brought an overwhelming surge of pain, but the fight wasn’t over. _I can’t let the bastard get away with this._

“But they’re my friends!”

Yugi’s voice, clear and pained, cut through the fog.

 _What’s he doing here?_ This wasn’t his fight, there was no way he’d last 2 seconds.

Trudge laughed. “Friends? These are what you call your friends?”

 _Don’t you fucking touch him._ A sudden surge of energy filled Joey, giving his limbs the strength they needed to move. The rough, cold concrete bite into his hands as he pushed himself up. He turned to see Yugi standing between him and Trudge, arms held out in protection.

Joey blinked, blood stinging his eyes. There was… _something_ there. A dark shape coiled around Yugi. There were claws, gleaming scales, teeth glimmering in an open maw. A monster, huge, even bigger than Trudge.

And it was gone the moment the fist connected with Yugi.

Hearing him being pummeled hurt even more than what he’d gone through moments before. So maybe Joey had been too tough on Yugi. He could argue that he deserved…well, not this, but _something_ for how he acted. There was no reason for Yugi to defend him and absolutely none for him to be hurt for it. And Joey couldn’t even get on his feet to do anything about it.

“I’ll be expecting my payment tomorrow,” Trudge said, voice moving away. “200 thousand yen.” His footsteps echoed in the alley before they were gone.

Slowly, his body came to. Joey was able to push himself up to his hands and knees. He spotted Tristan out of the corner of his vision, stirring from where he lay. Yugi was facedown on the ground.

“Yuge, are you all right?” Joey reached to carefully touch him.

“I-I think so.” Yugi shifted his weight to get up but his arm buckled and he slipped back to the ground.

“Here, I got you.” He helped Yugi sit up, who promptly used the new position to hold his head in his hands. An image of his younger self came to mind; he pushed it away, refusing to think about that right now. “I’m gonna kill Trudge for laying a hand on you, Yuge.”

 “Don’t,” Yugi mumbled.

“Did you hit your head? He beat the shit out of you!” Tristan got to his feet and managed to remain standing, despite his own wobbliness.

“More fighting won’t solve anything.”

“Guys like him don’t listen to reason,” Joey spat. “You saw what happened when you tried talking to him.” His expression softened. “You didn’t have to stick up for us like that, you know. We coulda taken on that creep ourselves.”

Yugi raised his head, looking sheepish. “I made a wish on the puzzle…for friends that I could count on, would always be there for me…and that they could always count on me, too.” He sighed. “I’m sure you think it’s stupid.”

“No, Yuge.” At that moment Joey hated himself. For treating Yugi like shit because he could, for stealing the piece of the puzzle, for not being worthy of this friendship being offered to him. He absolutely deserved what he got from Trudge, and even then it didn’t feel like enough.

“Come on, let’s get you outta here.” Joey helped Yugi to this feet. “Tristan, come on, let’s get him to the nurse’s office.”

“What about you guys?” Yugi asked.

“No one will think twice if they thought we got into a fight,” said Tristan. “Besides, I’ve taken on guys twice his size before.”

Yugi gave a small smile. “Thanks guys.”

They were able to get to the school without further incident.  They were late, so they didn’t run into anyone and have to explain themselves, but they left Yugi right outside the nurse’s office. Again he thanked them, and again Joey felt undeserving. After turning the corner on their way to class, Joey turned to Tristan.

“By the way…you saw the same thing I did, right?”

Tristan blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“When Trudge was beating up Yugi, you didn’t see that monster?”

“I think you hit your head, dude.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He dropped the subject, despite the images of teeth and lines of red gems and sharp lines burned into his mind. _I must be seeing things._

Everyone bought the story that he’d been jumped on the way to school. Yugi left out who it was, of course, but didn’t argue when people thought he was mugged. He earned plenty of sympathy but it did little to make him feel better. How he would get out of this preoccupied his mind all day. He didn’t have 200,000 Yen, he couldn’t ask Grampa for it…

He slipped home after school and retreated to his room and tried to come up with a solution. Again, nothing came to mind. He couldn’t not go to school, plus Trudge knew where he lived. Everyone knew about the Kame Game Shop. His nervous hands fiddled with the pieces of the puzzle, needing something to do.

As his thoughts focused on what he would do, his unconscious mind worked on the puzzle. It assuaged his anxiety, the smallest bit, until he noticed one particular piece he always struggled with click into place.

“Oh!” He looked at the other pieces on his desk, spotting what had to be its neighbor. It slotted in easily.  Then the next, and the next.

“I’m doing it! It’s so easy.” The pyramid was taking shape, with a square top and a hollow center. Yugi’s focus was on nothing else until finally there was one space left and he knew the piece with the Wadjet would fit it perfectly and solve the puzzle.

“I did it.” His hands trembled as he turned to the puzzle box for the final piece.

“Wh-“

“Yugi!”

Yugi jumped in his seat and spun around in his chair. “Gramps!”

“Oh? Did you solve it?” He moved in closer to take a look.

“Actually…”

“After all these years, you never gave up, I knew you could do it.”

“I didn’t solve it,” Yugi said, voice breaking. “I’m missing the last piece…” _…and I’ll never get my wish._

“Actually, that’s why I came.” With a flourish Grampa revealed that he held the final piece.

“Thank you, thank you!” Yugi jumped to his feet and hugged him. “Where did you find it?”

“I didn’t, a friend of yours came and told me to give it to you.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “He was soaking wet, too, not sure what he was up to.”

“Joey…” Yugi couldn’t imagine being any happier than he was now. Everything was working out, the puzzle truly was a good luck charm.

Grampa smiled. “It’s late, make sure to get some sleep, too.”

“Of course, and thank you, again.” He waited until he left and the door closed behind him before returning his attention to the puzzle.

 _Finally. After 8 years._ Pulse racing, he lined up the final piece with the hole. It fell into place with a sense of heaviness.

There was a sudden shift that Yugi couldn’t quite place. His heart still beat fast, but this time it was with the sense that something was wrong. The Wadjet stared back at Yugi, malevolent, somehow. He wanted, no, _had_ to get away, but he couldn’t put the puzzle down, couldn’t dream of parting with it, couldn’t tear his eyes away.

There was a bright flash then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

_I am Ra, I rise to be born anew. Once more my ba and ka are split, once more I’m in a body that walks the land of the living. It’s not my own, my khat is long gone, no different than the desert sand, but it feels familiar. Did I walk with it before?_

_No, my ba is already here, somehow. This vessel is still weak and cannot sustain me for long, but it will have to do. It’s been thousands of years without rest, since my name has been spoken, since I have known peace. But now I can come forth by day and restore the rites so I may finally rest._

_And yet this may be over sooner than I thought. I can feel the turmoil within the host’s ba. He’s not a warrior, nor will I ever be as long as I remain within this khat, but still he must fight. His ka is there, weak, but can grow as he does. Whatever enemies of mine remain and don’t allow me to rest may interfere, and my kau will not always be there to protect him. Even now I can feel some are stolen from me._

_There will be time to restore my akh, the rites, return my ren to the lips of the people of my kingdom, but I must ensure the safety of this vessel first._

_Quicker than a shadow, I travel the streets of this unfamiliar land.  While the ba is weak, the vessel’s jib is strong, and his mind is easy to access as it’s locked away. I know where to go, how to summon my opponent, how he is to be defeated. He stands in front of a gate, his ba is strong. He has the potential to wield a powerful ka. Maybe in another time he would be a true threat, but here he is nothing._

_I am Anubis, I judge the weight of one’s soul. This person stands in front of me, self-assured in his victory. He demands money that has no weight. But I can see his heart and know that it is his one true weakness._

_It’s yours, I say, if you beat me in a game, a shadow game. He accepts._

_He cannot see his heart is already on the scales. To prove himself, he must use the blade to control his greed. We trade turns, each putting our body at risk for flimsy paper that has no value. I have no need of it and can control myself._

_Panic sets in his face as he realizes his jib has taken control of his body. His greed outweighs anything else. His arm shakes and then he moves. But he is too slow, too burdened by his own sins._

_I am Ammit, devourer of the dead. He is unworthy of duat. But I am more than just this akh._

_Come forth, my ka, and serve me!_ 『ＤＡＲＫ ＭＡＧＩＣＩＡＮ』!

_Once again I feel my ba sear through my veins as the ka manifests, the sorcerer who has stood by my side countless times and destroyed foes much greater than this. But this world is different, where the hearts of the unworthy remain unjudged._

_Dark Magician wields his staff and matches my movements as I call for the spell, Illusion of Avarice. In this state, it’s the most I can do, this vessel still possesses too little ba for more than this._

_The sun is rising and I must return to duat, we are both too weak to both walk under the gaze of Horus. But with my prison finally complete, I will return once more._


	4. Chapter 4

Yugi awoke in bed, head throbbing. He cracked open an eye to see the early morning sun creeping through the skylight. Fuzzy memories started creeping in.

“Right, the puzzle.” There was an unfamiliar weight against his chest; his hands found that it was the puzzle, now in the shape of some sort of amulet, tied to a cord around his neck.

“I must have gotten too excited finishing it.” He pulled it off his neck and placed it on his desk before collapsing back into bed, not bothering to change out of the clothes he must have spent all day in. The shadows in the room felt heavy despite the approaching dawn, but he just wanted a few more hours of sleep before the new day.

The extra sleep only made the slightest bit of difference. As Yugi shuffled into the school yard he noticed a group of students huddled off to the side and talking amongst themselves.

“Haha, look at him.”

“What the fuck does he think he’s doing?”

“Trudge must of lost it.”

The name jolted Yugi awake. Memories of yesterday came flooding back. _Oh no, the money! How did I forget?_ He felt sick to his stomach, he knew he was screwed. He could go home…no, that would just make Grampa ask questions. But if he stayed Trudge would just find him, but-

“Mine, all this money is mine, mine…”

It was clearly Trudge’s voice but something sounded…off. Despite knowing the danger he could be putting himself in, Yugi moved closer to the group of students. They stood loosely enough apart that he could see what they were all looking at.

Trudge was sitting underneath the tree in the schoolyard, a huge pile of leaves around him. He grabbed a handful and tossed it, smiling as they rained down around him.

“There’s so much money and it’s all _mine_ , I can’t believe it…”

Yugi blinked.  He had been acting weirdly yesterday by threatening him, but this? This was completely different. Part of him felt bad for Trudge being….whatever this was. A breakdown? But a larger part of him was relieved that he no longer would have to worry about paying him.

He ducked out of the group and headed into the school.

“Everything is working out for me,” he said to himself, “I knew the puzzle was a good luck charm.” _I can’t wait to show Teá! She’s going to be so excited._

“Hey, Yugi.”

“Oh, hi Joey.” He hadn’t noticed the other student leaning against the wall. His face and hands had bandages in various spots, remainders from the fight yesterday.

“You saw Trudge, didn’t you?”

Yugi nodded. “I don’t know what happened to him, but I don’t think he’s going to bother me anymore.”

“Yeah, who knows what got into him.” Joey sighed then glanced away. “By the way, thanks for yesterday. You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

“Oh, it was nothing.” Yugi knew he probably looked just as roughed up as Joey, if not worse, but he didn’t regret it.

“Are you kidding me? You got your clock cleaned, Yuge. But I guess that’s what friends do for each other, right?”

A huge smile light up Yugi’s face. “Right, friends!” The bell rang, making him jump. “Class!”

“C’mon, Yuge, let’s get a move on!”

Yugi poked at his food nervously. Joey had passed him a note for them to meet on the roof during lunch. But that’s what friends did, right? But no one else was up here. He tried not to over think it, but-

“Sorry, I had to lose Tristan.” Yugi turned to see Joey standing at the access door to the roof, hands in his pockets. Something felt off and it refused to let him relax.

“Wh-what for?”

“I didn’t need him asking questions.” Joey took a step forward. “Yesterday, during the fight, didn’t you notice anything…strange?”

His mind jumped back to when he first arrived, where a dark form was wrapped around Joey, until it wasn’t. But he didn’t want to seem any weirder than people already thought he did.

“No,” he answered, not feeling like he did a convincing job lying.

“I don’t know if something got knocked loose, but I coulda sworn I saw a monster standing behind you.”

“W-what?” Yugi’s mind raced. Was Joey messing with him? He would have noticed something like this, wouldn’t he? How could Joey know to tease him for what he thought he saw?

“Yeah it was, like,” Joey lifted his arms to illustrate, “this gnarly-looking dragon. You looked scared but I swore it was going to bite Trudge’s head off.”

Yugi studied him. Joey seemed completely serious about this. Was he talking about his own…not a shadow, it was more than that. Some sort of force standing next to him, like a spirit.

“My what?”

“Oh.” _I was thinking out loud again!_

Joey moved closer. “What’re you talking about? I had one, too?”

“I-I don’t know, maybe, I barely saw anything, everything happened so fast.”

“This was during the fight, yeah?”

Yugi nodded. “Right when I got there, but it was gone when you were knocked out.”

“Yeah, okay.” Joey rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Aha, that’s gotta be it. Yuge.”

“Uh, yeah, Joey?”

“I want you to hit me.”

“What? No! I’m not doing that.” Yugi looked his friend over, where did he even get this idea? “I already told you, I hate fighting.”

“Yeah, I know, but the thing showed up when you were ready to throw down with Trudge.”

“But I wasn’t-“

“And you said you saw mine when I was fighting Trudge.”

“Yeah but-“

“And I’m not gonna hit you, so you gotta hit me. C’mon.” Joey pulled Yugi to his feet then shifted his stance.  

“This isn’t some sort of trick, is it?”

Joey frowned. “Why would I ask you all these weird questions if I was just going to mess with you?”

_This is what friends do then, right? Teá never wanted to do anything like this, but she’s a girl, is this what guys do?_ Yugi stepped forward and looked up at Joey. He wasn’t as big as Trudge, but he still looked solid. He’s gotten into fights before, so Yugi possibly couldn’t have hurt him, right?

“Gimme your best shot, Yuge, I can take it.”

Resolute, Yugi took a deep breath, wound back his arm and punched Joey in the arm. Joey grinned.

“Good, now again, put your all into it.” So he hit him again, and again, each time Joey seeming to be growing the slightest bit more frustrated. And Yugi was just as frustrated with himself. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath…and then found something inside that felt like his blood was on fire. Once more he swung, a yell escaping him.

Joey jumped back in surprise and instinctually brought his own fists up in protection. Then there it was, the shadow from before, floating behind him and shaping into the maw of a dragon, red eyes gleaming.

“Joey!”

“Yeah, Yuge, I feel it. Don’t you?”

Yugi nodded numbly. His heart was still racing but he saw it, a second black dragon, just behind his own shoulder. A line of red gems ran down the side of its neck and it glared at Joey with its blank eyes. Yugi somehow knew that it was under his control and wouldn’t attack if it wasn’t ordered, but the anger he felt from it was wholly its own. It was a spirit from somewhere else, yet still connected to him.

Joey’s dragon leered across the divide. Aside from its eyes, it was pure black. It looked thin but between the horns on its skull and back and large wings, it was still intimidating. The sight of it made Yugi uneasy.

“Real monsters, huh.” Joey lifted a hand to touch it; it only moved through the dragon as If it were fog.

“I’ve never seen this before,” Yugi muttered. “I’ve never even _heard_ of this before.”

“Heard of what?”

They both turned to see Tristan now standing at the entrance to the roof.

“I’ve been looking all over for you, Joey.”

Joey blinked. “You seem pretty, uh, calm, considering….” He let his voice trail off.

Tristan cocked his head. “What are you even talking about?”

_He can’t see them?_ Yugi willed for whatever apparition this was to go away; it ducked its head and vanished, only then did his heart calm down. “Oh, it’s nothing.” Yugi waved his hand dismissively and tried to laugh it off. “Joey was just trying to teach me some things in case anyone like Trudge ever showed up again.”

Joey regarded him for a moment before responding. “Uh, yeah. Between the two of us, I don’t think people are gonna be bothering you anymore.”

Tristan huffed. “Lunch is almost over, you know, I’m sure you can teach Yugi how to defend himself after school.”

Yugi nodded. “He’s right, and I think I know who to ask next.”

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

The final bell rung and everyone filed out of the classroom. Yugi made sure to catch up to Joey.

“We need to figure out more about,” he paused, “this.”

Joey scratched his face. “Well, yeah, but how do you expect to do that? We just can’t go asking around if other people’ve ever seen crazy dragons or anything.”

“Well, maybe not that direct. My grampa knows a lot of ancient history, maybe this has happened before?”

Joey shrugged. “It’s a start.”

Tristan was busy with School Beautification Club tasks and Teá had slipped off to wherever she went to sometimes after school, so they weren’t bothered on the way to Yugi’s home. He held the puzzle in his hands thoughtfully and reflected on the past 24 hours. So much had already changed for the better, but things were equally as bizarre, too.

“I don’t think I properly thanked you for yesterday,” he said absent mindedly.

Joey glanced over at him. “No, you did, I couldn’t let Trudge just- “

“Not that.” Yugi sighed. “For returning the puzzle piece, I mean.”

“Right, that.” Joey returned his eyes forward, refusing to look at Yugi. “Still, I shouldn’t have took it in the first place. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Well, you had the right thought later, and that’s what really counts, anyways.”

The bell above the door jingled as Yugi stepped inside. Grampa turned from unboxing some new products to the entrance.

“Welcome home, Yugi! And I see you brought your friend from last night.” Joey ducked his head sheepishly.

“We have some questions that we want your help with.” Yugi stood on his tip toes to get a better look at the boxes on the counter.

“What do you know about…,” Joey trailed off, making vague gestures with his hands, “ghosts and stuff?”

Grampa laughed. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that! Almost every culture has some concept of spirits or the undead.” He gestured at the puzzle around Yugi’s neck. “The Egyptians had very strong beliefs about the afterlife and what you had to do to not become what you would now consider a ghost.”

Yugi glanced down at the puzzle. It was just that, a puzzle, but there was still some text on the box that made it seem like it was more than that, he recalled.

“That’s why they got turned into mummies and stuck them into pyramids and all that, right?” Joey asked.

“Not exactly. The tombs were so the pharaohs could have their belongings be safe for their journey to the afterlife,” Grampa explained. “Even if a thief was able to get into a tomb, he’d be hard pressed to get back out with anything. Not only were there favorite things, the Egyptian kings were also buried with things to give them safe journey to duat.”

Yugi cocked his head. “Duat?”

Grampa nodded. “The afterlife, as they called it. There were plenty of monsters and spirits that could prevent a soul from receiving peace. Everyone was buried with The Book of the Dead and the charms and spells written within it. Every morning the soul of the dead would come back to our world on Ra’s boat, which is why another name for the spells is the Book of Coming Forth by Day.”

Yugi frowned. _Why does that sound familiar?_

“The Egyptians believed that the individual had multiple parts to it. The body was what was left behind when you died, but it was your akh that moved on.”

Joey crossed his arms. “A’int that the cross thingy?”

“No, that was the symbol for life. The akh is the reunification of the ‘spark’ and the ‘personality’ of the deceased.” Grampa paused to regard his audience and saw that they were still very much confused.

“So there are three parts of you that make you you. First, there’s the jib, which is usually translated as ‘heart,’ but in a metaphorical sense, not literal. They actually didn’t think much of the physical heart and didn’t preserve it in canopic jars. This ‘heart’ is your will or seat of emotion.

“Second is the ba, or ‘personality.’ It’s unique for every person, what many other cultures would classically think of as a soul.

“And finally there’s the ka, which is what you have that makes you alive. If it’s no longer in your body, you die. The Egyptians thought that the akh was the union of the ka and ba and was what continued after you died, but for it to be kept that way, the deceased had to have the funeral rites done for them and constant offerings given. If this was stopped, then the akh would be out of balance.”

“That’s very interesting, Grampa, but I don’t think that’s exactly what we’re looking for,” Yugi explained. “We were wondering about more evil spirits?”

“I was getting to that. As you can imagine, over time, tombs were robbed, people stopped doing the rites for the kings of the past. With the akh in disarray, the ka and ba would split. The gods and other mythical figures could shapeshift, as well as any souls in duat, which is why they would be illustrated with animal heads. Sometimes this meant monstrous forms.

“There were plenty of stories about haunted tombs, with monsters dwelling within. It could be just myth, maybe the desert heat, maybe the tales of one nameless pharaoh and his shadow games…”

“You mentioned that before, about my puzzle,” Yugi pointed out.

Grampa nodded. “I did. The pharaoh that once owned that puzzle was said to take part of them, to entertain his court, making monsters battle each other. There were illustrations in the tomb of them, I might…oh, right!” Grampa ducked under the counter and rustled around for a moment before popping back up again, handing a foil pack to each of the boys.

“These are the new set of playing cards for that Duel Monsters game,” he explained. “I remembered that that Pegasus fellow who designed the game was always interested in Egyptology, he’s mentioned before that he’s designed cards based off artifacts before.

“I didn’t know that,” Yugi said. “I know some kids at school play this but I’ve never noticed anything looking Egyptian before.”

“Probably wants his own art style for the game. But those cards are on me, think of them as a gift for humoring me.”

“Thank you,” Yugi said, fiddling with the wrapper.

“So why are you suddenly interested in all this?” Grampa asked.

“Oh, uh, school project. We thought you’d be a good place to start for information, right, Yuge?” Joey turned to his friend. “Uh, right?”

Yugi had flipped through the cards and was staring at the final one in the pack. The orange card had several lines of text describing the effect but he was transfixed by the art of a black dragon, lines of red gems standing in stark contrast to white lines and features, including pupilless eyes. The name of it read “Gandora, the Dragon of Destruction.”

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

“You’re sure about this Yuge?”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything in my life,” Yugi said. They were sitting in his room, once again the card the sole focus of Yugi’s attention. “It’s him, you saw him too, right? Isn’t that what he looked like?”

Joey sighed and spun back and forth on Yugi’s desk chair. “I mean, I guess, it’s hard to tell since he wasn’t very solid. But why is he a card?”

“There must be a picture of him somewhere in Egypt that Pegasus must have used for the card.” Yugi looked down at his puzzle. “Do you think this has to do with the puzzle?”

Joey frowned. “Egypt is so huge, there’s no way that whoever had your puzzle had to have all these Duel Monsters painted in his tomb, otherwise we would have heard about it, it would have been huge.” A grin creeped onto his face. “Do you think mine’s on a card? I want to know who he is.”

Yugi thought for a moment. “Perhaps. But we can’t just buy a bunch of packs from Grampa, he’ll want to save them for the customers.”

“How come you got yours like that, any ways? There was nothing like a dragon in my cards.”

Yugi shrugged. “I don’t know. But since our shop focuses a lot on older games we’ve never bothered to do things like stock individual cards. We should go to the other shops and see if the card is there.”

Joey jumped to his feet. “Well come on, let’s get going. I want to get to the bottom of this.” Yugi paused before following, glancing down at the card. Something told him to take it with him, but he knew he would only risk damaging or losing it, which seemed worse. He laid it on his desk before grabbing his bag and leaving the room. He felt a wave of disappointment that wasn’t his own.

Yugi felt uneasy being in another game shop. He knew his grandfather would be cross if he found out, or at least disappointed. Joey wasn’t helping.

“I told ya, all I could remember was he was black.”

The clerk huffed in frustration. “There’s a number of Duel Monsters cards that have dark dragons on them, you need to be more specific. What sort of monster was it, do you remember it’s effect?”

“No, I only saw it real quick.”

“Was the card tan or orange?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

The arguing was only making him more nervous. He tried to focus on the individual cards in the display cases instead. They came in various colors, denoting what type of card they were, and all had art on them. Some were very clearly Egyptian, with ankhs or falcon-headed men or mummies. Others were based on European myths, or animals, or common objects, or Japanese monsters he was more familiar with.

_Gandora doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before, is he really from Egypt? And why couldn’t Tristan see him? Or Joey’s? How can we even test this without scaring people? I don’t even know how to explain this, how can I to anyone else?_

“-any detail at all, please help me narrow it down.” The exasperated clerk drew Yugi’s attention. Joey looked just as annoyed.

“Didn’t it have red eyes?” Yugi offered. Joey’s face lit up.

“Yeah, that’s right, it was a black dragon with red eyes.”

The clerk groaned. “You couldn’t remember R-“

“Don’t bother with Wheeler, he wouldn’t remember his own head if it weren’t attached to his shoulders.”

Joey wheeled around to the direction of the voice. He grit his teeth, recognizing the other student.

“What’re you even doing here, Kaiba? Aren’t you too good for a place like this?”

“Sometimes you need to deal with things in person.” He took a step forwards and glared at Joey. “Now out of my way, it wasn’t like you could even afford that useless card.”

“You son of a-“ Yugi grabbed Joey’s arm, which was enough to stop him from taking a swing at Kaiba, but did nothing to stop the dragon that sprung from the nothingness and roared a challenge. Kaiba’s brow knit and took half a step back, a silvery dragon materilizing in the space between them. It was still a spirit, still whatever ethereal matter these were made of, but it was much more defined.

Clear, blue eyes stared back as Kaiba smirked from the other side. “Now, as I was saying,” he turned from Joey to the store clerk, who was unsettled from the tension between the two boys. “My sources tell me that a shop in Domino has a copy of Blue Eyes White Dragon.”

“Really?” the clerk asked. “I’ve never seen a card that rare before.”

“Of course not.” Kaiba turned to Joey, a glint in his eye. “But I won’t be leaving empty handed. Is that the only Red Eyes Black Dragon you have?”

“Ah, yes, sir.”

“Then I’ll take it.”

Joey pulled his arm away from Yugi. “Kaiba, you slime ball, I was gonna buy that.”

Kaiba raised a brow. “Really? Do you even know how much a card like that costs?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Kaiba laughed. “You don’t even know the first thing about Duel Monsters, do you?”

“I-“

 “You need the most powerful cards, everyone knows that, so they don’t come cheap. Especially if you want one because,” he paused, “you’re attached to it.” Without breaking eye contact he fishes out his card and hands it to the clerk, who rings him up.

“Kaiba…,” Yugi said, realizing how small his own voice sounded. He took a moment to collect himself and stand straighter. “Kaiba,” he repeated.

Kaiba turned to him. “What do you want?”

“What do you know about Duel Monsters?” The way he said it carried more than just his intention, he knew he couldn’t openly ask why Blue Eyes White Dragon was standing next to its master, why Kaiba could see Red Eyes Black Dragon. If he knew anyone else who did as well. Blue Eyes growled and shifted closer to Kaiba, which the three of them noticed. Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Yugi.

“More than you do, clearly,” he stated. “And not just because of the tournaments I’ve won. But I have better things to do than talk to dweebs like you all day.”

“Oh, your purchase, Mr. Kaiba.” The clerk offered Kaiba a small paper bag, who snatched it from his hands. He strode to the door but stopped, turned once more to Yugi.

“That thing on your neck,” Kaiba said, “how much for it?”

Yugi was flabbergasted. Why the puzzle, why now? Joey stepped in front of Yugi protectively, Red Eyes curling around them both.

“My friend’s treasure isn’t for sale. Now get lost before I wipe the smirk off your face.”

Kaiba didn’t seem worried. “Let me tell you one thing, Blue Eyes White Dragon is one of the most powerful cards in all of Duel Monsters, and her strength doesn’t end just there. But I’m sure you’ve figured that one out on your own.” Confidentially he shoved the door open and strode out as Blue Eyes dissipated.

“Can you believe the nerve of that guy?” Joey growled, glaring out the door. Yugi placed a hand on his arm, which seemed to calm him enough for Red Eyes to disappear as well.

“But why Kaiba?” he wondered aloud.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

The two split not long after, unsure of where to look next. Yugi knew he had homework and chores to get done as well, the latter giving him time to think about everything.

 _He recognized my puzzle, didn’t he? And his dragon reacted to me differently than it did Joey, but why? Gandora didn’t come out, but could it tell?_  He sighed and leaned on the broom. “This is all too weird.”

“Oh, Yugi, there you are.” He turned to see his grandfather at the doorway.  

“What’s up?”

Grampa seemed to have a knowing smile on his face. He walked over to Yugi, who noticed a wooden box in his hand.

“To be honest, I’m surprised you hadn’t shown interest in Duel Monsters before today,” Grampa said. “I used to play it quite a lot in my day, you know.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned it.”

“You seemed to really like one of the cards you got today.”

Yugi nodded. “There was just something about Gandora, I can’t figure out what it is.” He knew it was a lie and felt awful for saying it, but he didn’t need any more explaining himself than he had to.

Grampa smiled. “There’s plenty of Duel Monsters out there, but you’ll inevitably find yourself drawn to a certain one. You never know how you might come across it. Here,” he pressed the wooden box into Yugi’s hands, “is my deck, and my monster that’s most precious to me.”

He felt the wording was odd but didn’t say anything about it. He lifted the lid to the box, staring, dumbfounded, at the card at the top of the stack. He felt Gandora materialize at his side; the dragon glared silently at the familiar card.

“Oh? You look like you recognize it?”

“How do you have this?” Yugi blurted. Wasn’t this Kaiba’s monster?

Grampa carefully took the box back from Yugi; Gandora swung its head out of the way but his grandfather didn’t seem to notice. _Does he not see him?_

“Blue Eyes White Dragon is one of the rarest cards in the world,” he explained. “They ever only printed four of them, and I’m lucky to have one. But that’s not why it means so much to me.”

“Then why…?”

A soft fondness crossed his face. “Many years ago, I was on an expedition with a dear friend. We were trapped in some ruins and didn’t think we would make it. Dueling was all we had to pass the time and, well,” he closed his eyes in contemplation, “I may have won the card, but it’s a reminder to me of that friend and what we went through. Losing that card would feel like losing that friendship, and I would never do that.”

Yugi nodded, reminded of his own new-found friendship. “I understand, I don’t think I would be able to, either.” His thoughts returned to the run-in with Kaiba yesterday. Someone in the city was selling their Blue Eyes, but who? “Do you know who owns the others?”

Grampa shook his head. “I don’t. I know there’s plenty of buyers out there who would pay anything to get their hands on one, but whoever owns them hasn’t made it public.”

“I heard there was a store around here selling one,” he offered.

“Oh? Hopefully they’ll retire once they do, then I’ll have one less competitor.” Grampa patted Yugi on the shoulder. “I’ll get dinner started soon, then you can ask me everything you could ever want to know about Duel Monsters.”

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

_I am Horus, I rise again as pharaoh. This host is weak, but growing stronger. He has discovered his own ka. I notice on the table there are pictures, of other kau, some I recognize, some I do not. There’s his own, who I’m unfamiliar with. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, as every ka is unique, based on the ba of the host, but._

_While I might not be conscious, I am still aware, have been ever since I’ve awakened. And I saw it, the ka of my long time friend and rival, Blue Eyes White Dragon. But he was not an akh, he was walking among the living again. Reborn again, but how? This host feels familiar, much like my own body use to, but he has his own ka._

_I move myself through the house, once more tapping into the memories of this host. He still doesn’t seem to notice me doing so, is he aware of my presence? He knows of the puzzle, of course, and senses the importance of it, but has no memory of my time in control, nor any idea as to what’s the true importance of this item._

_The box is where it was left earlier that night. I open it, take the card in hand. It’s Blue Eyes White Dragon, the same as I remember it. But there’s nothing attached to this, no magic keeping the ka bound. Yet at least three people can call forth their ka, but how? Can something this flimsy really carry the magic to control kau?_

_I still have my magician, but it’s not the man he once was. His power is mine, he fights for me, but he can no longer answer my questions as to the mysteries of these monsters I could once so easily control._

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Once again Yugi found himself distracted in class. How could he not be? He slept poorly again, for one, and second he kept staring at the back of Kaiba’s head. He _knew_ he had one of these spirit dragons that would stand next to him, but had it always been there? What reason would Kaiba need to call it forth?

 _It seems to summon itself when you feel threatened, but why would Kaiba do that? Who would even threaten him? He owns Kaiba Corp, he could buy anyone out if he wanted to._ He fiddled with his pen, glanced over at Joey, who seemed content to goof off like he always was in class. Everything seemed so _normal_ , like the past few days hadn’t happened at all.

At lunch Teá joined him at his desk. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You seem out of it today.”

Yugi sighed. “Weird things keep happening,” he answered truthfully.

“Yeah, I heard about Trudge.” She leaned against her hand. “I’m glad he’s not bothering you anymore, I can’t believe he’d be capable of doing something like that.”

He wanted to tell her more, but how could he? He recalled how he felt when she was weirded out by learning about the history of the puzzle. There was no way that she would understand what was going on now, considering he and Joey only now had more questions than answers.

“Have you heard of Duel Monsters?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“Of course, I’m surprised you’re not playing it already, Yugi, it’s pretty popular.”

Yugi laughed nervously. “Oh, it never seemed really popular at our shop, so I hadn’t bothered.”

“I’m sure you’d like it, it’s not that hard to learn.” She smiled. “I don’t have any cards on me, but I’m sure I can go over the rules, if you like.”

Yugi smiled. “That sounds great!”

Kaiba seemed to have disappeared over lunch; no one thought anything of it, since everyone knew he had a company to run. It was one less distraction for Yugi, at least, who used it to catch back up on work. He knew this couldn’t last and he would just have to adjust to this new normal…whatever it was. It meant friends, at least, and a new game to hold his interest, which was something he always could appreciate.

As the final class ended and everyone filed out of the room, Yugi turned to his friends and said “We should all head over to the game shop and play Duel Monsters.”

Teá smiled. “That’s a great idea.”

“Ready to lose to me at something else?” Joey asked, poking Tristan in the ribs with his elbow; he didn’t seem amused.

“Last I checked you need to do math for that game, which you suck at.”

Joey waved a hand dismissively. “That’s what they made calculators for.”

The four friends chattered as they walked to Yugi’s. He marveled as how everyone got along so well, all having a shared interest in this card game. Maybe that’s what Gandora and Red Eyes showed up for, to introduce them to the game, in some sort of roundabout way. _I wished on the puzzle for friends, and they’re here, and I only know about Duel Monsters because Gandora arrived. Did the pharaoh have one, too? It’s a shame he doesn’t have a name, otherwise we might be able to look it up._

They stood to the side as Yugi stepped forward to open the shop door first.

“Grampa, I brought friends!” There was no answer and a pit formed in his stomach.

“Where’s your old man?” Joey asked.

“Maybe he’s in the back?” offered Teá. They filed into the Kame Game Shop. Yugi nervously glanced around the store; everything was in its proper place, no display cases were broken, nothing looked rummaged through.

Joey made a sound in his throat, Red Eyes Black Dragon materializing by his side before the tension was visible in his muscles, ready in case something happened. It only served to make Yugi more nervous.

“I-I’ll check the house.” He moved a little too fast for someone who was calm and bounded up the stairs, calling out and looking in each of the rooms. Still there was no sign of his grandfather, no note or any other sign of where he was.

The peal of the telephone made him jump. Gandora popped into existence and roared a challenge, only rattling him more. There was a yelp from somewhere below.

“Yuge! You all right?” Joey’s footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs.

“I’m fine,” he said, unsure of the answer himself. The phone rang once more before suddenly stopping, someone else having picked it up. Joey alighted at the top of the stairs and looked Yugi over.

“What’s up with the big guy?” he asked quietly.

“The phone startled me,” Yugi answered, voice just as soft. “I don’t like this.”

Joey glanced around the room. “Yeah, Teá got the phone, but something’s not right.” Once more there were the sounds of footfalls on the steps.

“Yugi?” It was Teá. “The phone’s for you.” She paused. “It’s Kaiba.”

The knot in his stomach twisted until he felt like his knees would give out. He went down the stairs as fast as he felt he could and picked up the handset.

“Hello?” Once again he cursed himself for his voice feeling so small.

“I think you should come collect your grandfather, he doesn’t seem to be feeling well.” The smugness of the voice chilled him in a way he didn’t want to think about.

“What did you to do him?” He tried to keep his voice level, tried not to show his panic, but he knew he was failing. Everything was sliding out of his control.

“Nothing he didn’t agree to.” He was _laughing_.

Gandora growled, which Kaiba didn’t miss.

“Ironic the old man said he stands by his cards when they wouldn’t even stand by him. Maybe you’ll actually be a challenge.”

“Kaiba!”

“I shouldn’t have to tell you where Kaiba Corp is. I expect you shortly.” The line disconnected.

If it weren’t for his friends, Yugi was sure he wouldn’t be able to make it to the tall building in the heart of Domino’s financial district. Gandora acted as a second set of eyes, on high alert and feeding enough information back into Yugi to keep him from walking into anything he shouldn’t. All his attention was drawn inward, where he could constantly worry.

Red Eyes was a quiet fury, opposite of Joey’s cursing and threats to rearrange Kaiba’s limbs into new shapes. It was clear that Tristan and Teá couldn’t see the dragons, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was making sure his grandfather was safe.

Outside of the skyscraper stood a man in a black suit and dark glasses. His head tilted the smallest bit when he saw Yugi.

“Mr. Kaiba is waiting for you,” he said, as if he were a secretary sitting outside the boardroom.

Joey stomped up and grabbed him by the shirt. “Where’s Yugi’s gramps?” he demanded. The man didn’t seem phased.

“I’ll take you to him as soon as you release me.”

Joey growled and let him go. As promised the employee lead them into the building and to a freight elevator that carried them underground. Yugi felt he would pass out at any moment. His attention snapped back to the moment when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see it was Teá, face unreadable.

The elevator dinged as it stopped and the doors slid open. The room was huge but Yugi’s attention was drawn to a form, prone on the ground.

“Grampa!” The distance between them disappeared and Yugi found himself next to him on the floor.

“Yugi,” he said weakly. “I tried to show him to respect the cards but…”

“He failed.” Yugi turned to see Kaiba, standing on a platform, akin to a cherry picker, that lowered itself to the floor. “He says he understands the cards, trusts them to fight by his side, but he’s a fool.” Blue Eyes White Dragon shimmered in next to him, silent in its majesty.

“D’you have nothing better to do then pick on old people?” Joey shook in his own rage; Red Eyes flared its wings open, glaring at Blue Eyes.

“He accepted my challenge and agreed that we would put our rarest card on the line.” From his pocket Kaiba pulled out the Blue Eyes White Dragon card.

“Isn’t that…?”

Kaiba smirked. “Smart enough to remember my ka but not your own?” Before anyone could ask, he tore the card in two, dropping the pieces to flutter to the ground.

“No!” Yugi stood, shocked.

“But that’s _your_ monster!” Joey protested.

Kaiba laughed. “It might look like it, but it’s no different than any other piece of cardboard. But it’s still one of the most powerful cards and could be used against me, which I can’t allow.”

“Yugi.”

He turned, once again to his grandfather and kneeled at his side. Grampa held out his deck with a shakey hand.

“If anyone can teach him to respect the heart of the cards…it’s you.”

“But…” _I’ve never played duel monsters._ But his hands moved, not on his own, taking the cards from his cold hands.

“I will,” he said, as if he were far, far away and watching from the other side of the room.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

_I am Osiris, I judge the living for their sins. Before me stands Set, betraying me once more, the me that walks the world during the day, who’s body now hosts my akh._

_“We’ll duel,” he says, voice carrying across the arena. “The first to lose all his Life Points must surrender his rarest card.”_

_“I accept.”_

_It’s a familiar scene, thousands of years old. But there’s no magicians to summon kau, there are no galleries of watchers. Instead there are three people, friends of the host, cheering me on._

_Set goes first, calling forth a monster, flickering to life like sun shining through the clouds. There’s gasps as a one-eyed giant appears on the field. It’s like a ka, it’s visible and light passes through it, it exerts its force on the air around it rumbles like thunder. But it’s not a ka, it’s an illusion, a dead thing mocking life. Set can tell I see through the trick but the audience isn’t convinced._

_“A real monster!”_

_It’s my turn, I draw. I recognize some of the monsters and spells, others I do not. But the rules are very much the same as they were in my court so many years ago. I set a monster face down and wait._

_Set laughs. “Afraid?” he asks. “Your grandfather’s cards are weak, just like him.”_

_I don’t answer. He has the same face, the same air, as the priest that once served me, but an arrogance I don’t recognize._

_He takes his turn, draws. Confident, he orders his giant to attack. It bellows and charges, crashing into my soldier of stone. Set growls in frustration as he takes damage._

_“If that’s the best you can do, then this will be no challenge at all.” He sets a monster face down and ends his turn._

_“Your arrogance will be your downfall, Set.” His eyes narrow as I draw then summon a dragon. It paled in comparison to any ka of power, but it would do in this game. I order it to attack and it burns away his giant._

_“Congratulations, you’ve destroyed one of my weakest monsters.” His arm reaches for the sky as his ba shimmers around him. “I sacrifice Totem Dragon to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!” His face down monster flickers into existence to be replaced by his ka as she roared, shaking the room._

_“Woah!”_

_“You see it? You see it this time?”_

_“What in the world are you talking about?”_

_Whatever magic he uses, it makes the dragon visible to everyone._

_“Now, show Yugi the true meaning of the ‘heart of the cards!’_ 『ＢＬＵＥ-ＥＹＥＳ ＷＨＩＴＥ ＤＲＡＧＯＮ』! _White Lighting!” She roars as a stream of energy shreds my stone soldier to dust. The smoke clears to my field with only my dragon left, too weak to stand a chance. But I can feel the ba of the deck. It won’t fail me._

_I draw. A monster I don’t recognize, with no hope of taking on Set’s ka. I set it face down, change my own dragon to defense position. I end my turn. I’ve waited thousands of years to walk under the sun again, I can wait for my own victory._

_Again Set laughs. “You’ll bow before my kau in no time. Watch! I summon The Lord of D.” A magician appears on the field, hunched under the weight of cloak and dragon bone. “Then I use my spell, Flute of Summoning Dragon!” Lightning flashes across the arena and storm clouds are magicked into existence. But I can sense it, more kau. Two more Blue Eyes White Dragons descend from the clouds and land on the field. My face must have betrayed me._

_“For someone so confident you seem to know so little about the true power of Duel Monsters,” he says. “I’ll let you live, for now, so you can witness the true power of my kau.”_

_“You have no idea of the powers you meddle with,” I say. “I don’t know how you’ve done it, but it’s profane. And I will judge you for your transgressions. I draw!”_

_The card is familiar, an echo of a memory long ago. “I use Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards.” And as I do so, I know I have won._

_“Those cards are too weak to defeat me,” Set boasts. “They’re no more powerful in your hands than your grandfather’s.” And I feel my host stir. His ba rises, ready to be let loose. I know my hold is slipping, now that  he finally is fighting, fighting back against me, fighting for someone else._

_I cast a spell, the same after millenia, the ankh the same symbol of life as it always has been._

_“I activate Monster Reborn!”_

Yugi finds himself back where he always stood, everything coming into focus as his mouth moves on its own.

“I summon Totem Dragon from your graveyard!”

Kaiba sneers as his monster appears on the opposite side of the field. Yugi glances at his hand, foggy memories come to him about what the dragon had been used for before. Then he feels it, the nudge of his ka, the message forming in his mind.

“Kaiba! This ends here! I sacrifice Totem Dragon to summon my monster, 『ＧＡＮＤＯＲＡ ＴＨＥ ＤＲＡＧＯＮ ＯＦ ＤＥＳＴＲＵＣＴＩＯＮ』!”

The ka throws its head back and roars, shaking the building.

“Haha, yeah Yuge! Crush his dragons!” Yugi turns to see his friends below, cheering him on. He turns, eyes locking with Kaiba.

“You hurt my grandfather, you destroy his precious card, I can’t forgive you for this. And like my grandfather, I stand by my cards, and I know they stand by me. I activate Gandora’s effect!” His hand shoots out over the field and Gandora begins to glow, light collecting in each of the red gems lining its body. “I pay half my Life Points to destroy every other card on the field! Now, my ka! Boundless Gigarays!”

Laser beams erupt from Gandora, piercing Yugi’s other two monsters and causing them to shatter. The three Blue Eyes White Dragons roar in defiance but are silenced as the light burns through them, destroying all four of Kaiba’s monsters. There’s an explosion and the arena shakes.

The smoke clears and Gandora is the only thing left on the field. It’s hulking mass stares down Kaiba.

“For every card it destroyed, it only gets stronger. Gandora, end this fight! Attack Kaiba directly!” Once more Gandora roars, light collecting in its maw as it blasts his opponent in a blinding whiteness that consumes everything.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

“…Yugi?”

“You’re okay.” Yugi tearfully throws his arms around his grandfather. The monitors beep as the wires and lines are tugged too far.

“What happened?”

“Don’t worry, you’re okay now.” The past few hours had been a blur, of getting to the hospital, waiting for the doctors to say everything would be all right, doubting their words.

Grampa leaned back into the bed. “That’s right…you won the duel, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, because of your cards.” Yugi rubbed at his eyes, only now feeling how exhausted he was. “It’s because of you I was able to win.”

Grampa shook his head. “It’s not just what cards you have, otherwise Kaiba would have defeated you, too. It’s your belief that they will serve you well, that they’ll stand by your side when you need them most, as long as you stand by them as well.”

“That’s the heart of the cards then, huh?”

Grampa chuckled. “Well, perhaps. The shadow games the pharaohs played, they used real monsters, you know.”

Yugi sighed and smiled. “Yes, I remember you telling me.”

“But it wasn’t just that. Even if you had the strongest monsters, they wouldn’t serve their masters if they didn’t believe in each other. You can buy the strongest and rarest cards with all the money in the world if you want, but they won’t be there when you need them most if you don’t believe in them and the monster within.”

Yugi felt himself be pulled away, despite his body remaining in the chair. Gandora appeared next to him and sat down, like a very oversize cat. He glanced nervously at the dragon, but Grampa didn’t see it.

“So you believed in your Duel Monsters?” he asked. “Then why did you lose?”

Grampa sighed. “Kaiba and his holograms and technology were too much for me. Maybe the pharaohs went out of their way to make their games theatrical, but that’s not the point. It’s a battle of hearts. It’s bonding with your monsters in a way you just can’t explain.” He closed his eyes and smiled. “It just might be my age, but I think those cards respond to you much more than they ever did to me. Your fighting spirit has always been stronger than mine.”

Gandora made a sound of agreement. Yugi laid a hand on the neck of the dragon. He was still the slightest hint of transparent but was solid enough for him to not phase through it. He felt its intent of protection, but of Grampa, despite the threat of Kaiba and his monsters being gone.

“Have I told you how things have been bizarre lately? Maybe it’s the puzzle, maybe it’s destiny, I don’t know.”

Grampa gave a wry smile. “I don’t think they’ll be letting me out anytime soon. This would be the perfect time to tell me.”

Yugi smiled. “Well, it all started when I was trying to solve the puzzle at school…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you've enjoyed this departure from my normal type of work! Check out the other big bang works, too!
> 
> Beta'ing was done by the wonder [spellcastersjudgement](https://archiveofourown.org/users/spellcastersjudgement) and various language/Egyptology stuff by my qp who isn't on ao3 but is still a good cat.
> 
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